


Diabolik Cafe

by SapphieTheCat



Category: Diabolik Lovers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Cafe AU, Dark Past, F/M, Fluff and Crack, I'm Bad At Tagging, Manager Sakamaki Reiji, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Perverted Laito, Slice of Life, Stubborn Ayato, Tsudere Subaru, maybe? - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-03-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:07:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22456951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphieTheCat/pseuds/SapphieTheCat
Summary: This is why you should never go along with Reiji’s ideas. Diabolik Cafe. The thing that officially ruined your summer vacation. Aka you spend some “quality” time with the Sakamaki + Mukami + Tsukinami brothers while trying to glue everyone back together.This fic is more slice of life+crack than cannon so please don't crucify me for not getting a character right.
Relationships: Mukami Azusa/Reader, Mukami Kou/Reader, Mukami Ruki/Reader, Mukami Yuuma/Reader, Sakamaki Ayato/Reader, Sakamaki Kanato/Reader, Sakamaki Laito/Reader, Sakamaki Reiji/Reader, Sakamaki Shuu/Reader, Sakamaki Subaru/Reader, Tsukinami Carla/Reader, Tsukinami Shin/Reader
Comments: 7
Kudos: 57





	1. Prologue (aka how you got yourself into this mess)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is why you should never go along with Reiji’s ideas. Diabolik Cafe. The thing that officially ruined your summer vacation. Aka you spend some “quality” time with the Sakamaki + Mukami + Tsukinami brothers while trying to glue everyone back together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this fic is more of a half-crack than a serious, cannon, Diabolik Lovers fic. The characters may seem slightly out of character and that is because of the crackfic dynamics. There will be serious, dark moments in this but it will be mostly fun fluffy moments. Please don’t hate on me for my chosen way of portraying the brothers. On the surface, I did not add the darker aspects of the game. BECAUSE THIS IS A HALF CRACKFIC. Thank you for understanding and enjoy! I’ll try to get the first chapter out soon.

Somehow, Reiji had gotten a “great idea” and decided to open a cafe during summer vacation. Not that you had anything against the idea; you honestly could care less. But when he tried to drag his brothers, Yui, and you into it, you realized your summer of freedom is at stake. So you joined forces with the others to sabotage the second eldest Sakamaki’s idea.

Unfortunately for you, Reiji came prepared. Not only had he gotten permission and interest from Karlheinz, but he had also managed to either blackmail, bribe, or threaten his brothers into joining in. Which is why you stood arguing in Reiji’s room with Yui trying to defuse the situation. But you adamantly refused to give up your freedom. 

“No way, Reiji. You may be able to blackmail and bribe your brothers into it, but not me. I swear it on your mom,” you said, just to annoy him. Which honestly isn’t the brightest idea. But you had just wanted to get out of it, even if you had to employ some… different tactics.

“I prefer to call it a bargain, I would never use such a redundant tactic.” Reiji shot back calmly, ignoring your claim of “swearing it on Beatrix” while prodding his glasses up with his middle finger, simultaneously flipping you off. “Besides, you don’t think I don’t have a bargain for you?” 

You frowned, crossing your arms and furrowing your brows angrily, “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not going to work.” He glanced down at you as if mocking your not so ideal height. “Oh, really? Are you certain about that?” 

You were starting to get a bad feeling about this whole situation. It had made you suspicious why he never came up to you with a “bargain” in the beginning. His words made your stomach twist unpleasantly. 

Reiji seemed pleased with your silence, sparing you another glance as he worked on his science crap you cared little about. Unless it would be used on you, of course. “Let me enlighten you. You do realize that all my brothers are under some form of my control, right?” Your blood grew cold, the uneasy feeling growing in the pit of your stomach. “W-what does that have to do with anything?” You shot back, cursing yourself for stuttering.

Reiji stopped what he was doing, turning to glare straight at your soul. “I can tell them to do whatever to you. Sparing Yui completely. You will be harassed by all five of my brothers. Every. Single. Waking. Moment.”

  
  


…

You cursed your horrible luck as the stupid Tableware Otaku handed out uniforms and recited the rules. One rule, in particular, made you perk up. “No biting the customers, no matter how thirsty you may be.” 

“Does that included the employees?” You asked hopefully, ready to forgive Reiji for forcing you to work in his stupid new cafe, Diabolik Cafe. He turned towards you slowly, crimson eyes locked onto you. “No.” 

You slumped back into your seat at one of the tables as Ayato and Laito snickered at your now lost hope. You glared at them, internally cursing at them in anger. Reiji snapped at you to pay attention, then continued to explain the rules. They were pretty standard cafe rules, be polite to the customers, be on time, etc. But there were a couple of new rules added, keeping the brothers’ temperaments in mind. “Ayato, you may not eat the takoyaki that is made for the customers.” The redhead began to protest, verdant orbs flashing. He shuts up when Reiji glared at him as if reminding him of their “bargain”. You wondered what exactly Reiji did to make Ayato agree not to eat takoyaki that will literally be in his face. 

“Kanato, you will be our baker. However, you may not eat any of the sweets meant for the customer.” Kanato surprisingly didn’t argue. He simply nodded, clutching Teddy tighter to his chest. That concerned you. What exactly did Reiji do to them?

“Laito, no harassing or seducing the customers.” The mentioned redhead groaned in protest, whining, “Reiji!” Reiji ignored him. 

“Shu. No sleeping on the job.” He sent an especially harsh glare towards the blonde male, who was, surprise, surprise, asleep in one of the booths. Shu didn’t answer. “Remember our agreement, Shu.” An ocean blue orb opened and Shu nodded before flipping over, back towards everyone else. You were speechless. Shu didn’t call his brother annoying or argue? Who are these people and what have they done to the real Sakamaki brothers?

You scooted closer to Yui, whispering, “I think Karl might have kidnapped the real Sakamaki brothers and left us with fakes.” She giggled quietly before replying, “You’d be surprised the amount of power Reiji has over his brothers.”

Flabbergasted, you turned your attention back to Reiji. “Subaru. I don’t think this has to be said but,” he paused, pinching the bridge of his nose, “do not punch anything, anyone. Please.” Subaru responded with a “tch” and turned away. Typical. At least you know Subaru is real. 

Reiji then proceeded to give everyone their position in the cafe. “Ayato, Laito, Shu, Yui, and (Name), you will take orders and serve the customers their food.”

You couldn’t help but cut in, “So in a language we all understand, you want us to be the waiters/waitresses?” Everyone snickered, Reiji glared at you for what seemed like the tenth time today. “That was uncalled for. It seems a punishment is needed for you to learn your place.” 

You shut your mouth after that, unsure if he is serious. Knowing Reiji, he probably is. You gulped, trying to reassure yourself. Humor came at a price, after all. 

He continued after the interruption. “Kanato and Subaru, you will be in charge of preparing the food.” 

Ayato snickered, “Oi, Reiji, are you sure Subaru would be able to cook without burning anything?” Subaru stood up, knocking his chair down. “You-!” Reiji, finally snapping, shouted for everyone to shut up. Everyone did.

“I trust Subaru in the kitchen more than I trust you,” Reiji replied, earning quiet snickers from everyone. You sensed this little meeting is about to fall apart. If the brothers can barely keep it together during a meeting, how can they work together for three months?

Luckily, the meeting ended rather quickly after that. Perhaps Reiji had sensed the brothers’ patience to deal with each other thinning too? You changed into your uniform in the bathroom with Yui. The uniform itself isn’t half bad. It looked pretty good in your opinion. It had a cream short sleeve dress shirt with darker brown stripes creating a plaid pattern. Fixed at the collar is a green ribbon. The dress shirt is to be tucked into a high waisted dark brown shirt that ended mid-thigh along with black thigh-high socks. Wrapped around the waist on top of the skirt is an apron same color as the ribbon. 

The uniform came with loafers but you had asked Reiji if you could wear white sneakers instead. He allowed it. Yui had the same uniform, except she wore the standard loafers. You complimented her, she blushed a light shade of pink, thanking you and repaying the favor.

When you and Yui came out of the bathroom, it seemed that the boys aren’t here yet. You breathed a sigh of relief. You did not want Ayato’s eyes to wander down to your chest. But you’d hate to have to endure Laito’s “compliments”. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be too touchy-feely today. But you knew that would be near impossible. So instead of waiting for the inevitable, you walked over to examine the to-do list Reiji put up for you all. 

  1. Open the cafe.



Simple enough, you thought. Walking over to the glass doors, you opened them. Flipping the sign to open _ ,  _ you took in the outside of the cafe. It looked quite cute and cozy, striped canvas over the entrance of the cafe, which are doors made of glass. Beside the door, two large windows bordered around the bottom with flower planters. There are a couple of tables outside of the cafe and finally, a large sign on top of the canvas umbrella read  _ Diabolik Cafe.  _ You wonder who came up with such a ridiculous name. Probably Reiji. You snickered, finding it funny that someone as smart as him would have zero creativity. 

Walking back in, you noted that the streets are still quiet. It is, after all, only 6:45 in the morning. It had initially troubled you that everyone is going to be forced to flip their sleeping schedule around and deal with the sunlight but so far, nothing’s going wrong.  _ Yet.  _ You told the little voice in the back of your mind to shut up. 

Step two on Reiji’s stupid list apparently doesn’t apply to you. 

  1. Prepare the kitchen for cooking.



Poking your head into the kitchen, you waved the list at Subaru. “Reiji wants you to prepare the kitchen for cooking or something like that.” Subaru gave you a disgusted look. “How the hell am I supposed to do that?” You shrugged, “I dunno. It’s your problem now.” 

Skipping away from the kitchen (and Subaru’s frustration), you checked the to-do list for your next task. 

  1. Make sure the interior is presentable. 



Looking around, you fixed the chairs Ayato and Subaru had knocked over and straightened the table cloths. At this point, the rest of the boys trickled back into the main room of the cafe. “Aw~ Bitch-chan and (Name)-chan are so pretty in these uniforms. Too bad they don’t show much~.” Someone tugged at your skirt. You aimed a guess at Laito. Sure enough, the auburn-haired vampire stood behind you, hands on your waist. You promptly removed them, giving him an unimpressed look.

“Go mess with someone else, Fedora boy. I have things to do.” You continued making your way down the to-do list, ignoring his pout. From the other side of the cafe, you can hear Ayato pestering Yui to give him her blood. “Come on, Chichinashi, just a bite!” 

“But I have to help (Name)-chan with Reiji-san’s list.” She answered calmly. Impressed at how she kept her patience, you reasoned that Yui is a saint. You, on the other hand, cannot compare to her when it came to patience. You’re more of the wisecrack between the two of you. Your words have gotten you in trouble with the boys way more than you could count. On many occasions, Yui had to beg the brothers not to kill you. 

“She’s such a lifesaver.” You muttered to yourself. The sound of the bell at the door chiming brought you out of your spiral. 

A brown-haired woman stood by the door, hesitantly peering at you, Yui, and the brothers who happen to be in this room. 

“I’m sorry, is this cafe opened yet…?” She asked, gradually trailing off at the end. “Of course! We open at 6:00 AM.” You piped up, slipping into your role as a waitress. Yui smiled at her, “This way please,” she said, leading the woman to a table. You glared pointedly at the two triplets in the room, motioning for them to do something. 

You got a shrug from Laito and ignorance from Ayato. “Wait, where’s Shu?” You hissed at Laito. He shrugged, examining the pretty woman with interest, probably not even listening to you. You face-palmed and turned towards the other redhead. Ayato snorted, “Probably off somewhere sleeping.” 

Without Reiji and his threats, everything is falling apart quicker than you expected. Panicking, you hurried into the kitchen, hoping to get better results. Unfortunately, all you got was the ear-splitting screech of Kanato’s screams and Subaru’s angry retorts. “How the hell do you make a damn cake?!” 

“How am I supposed to know?!” Kanato cried, eyes full of tears of anger. “Woah, woah, calm down! What is going on here?” You asked, unsure how the situation managed to escalate in the mere minutes you had gone. Pinching the bridge of your nose, you tried to lessen the headache all the screaming had triggered. Fear consumed you. The memory of the rest of Reiji’s threat rang in your ears.

_ “And (Name)? I’m counting on you to keep this cafe in working order while I’m gone.” Your eyes widened in disbelief. “What?! Reiji, I can’t make them do anything. How am I supposed to keep it in order?” _

_ Reiji’s cold, vermillion eyes gazed at you indifferently, “You will find a way to do so. The safety of your sister hangs in balance.”  _

_ Your sister. Oh, God. He did not just threaten to kill your sister. The thought of your sweet little sister laying dead horrified you. “No, please, no. I’ll do it. Don’t hurt my sister.” Panicked, you wondered why he hadn’t deployed this method from the very beginning. As if reading your mind, Reiji elaborated. “I received instructions from our father to use any methods to open this cafe. He seemed very interested in it.”  _

_ Probably for another one of his sick experiments, you thought grimly. “Alright then. I keep the cafe open, my family stays safe.”  _

_ Oh, God, how is this going to work out for you for the entirety of summer vacation? _


	2. Bad Luck (Chapter 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have horrible luck. Seriously, why does it always happen to you?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo. Another chapter down. I actually had to write the ending a couple of times to get it how I wanted. Even so, I feel as if it could still use some improvements. About the realisticity of the last part, I personally think that if a victim had gone into shock (or an adrenaline rush), it would be quite hard for them to rest five seconds after the incident. When the adrenaline wears off, you’ll be tired as heck but before that, no sleep for you. However, that’s just my opinion and looks on things. If you have gone through something like this, it might not have gone down this way. Either way, I have never experienced anything like this (luckily) so my writing may not be accurate.

After a few days of this mayhem, everything settled into place. Sort of. It became more of a controlled chaos. Most of the time. The brothers settled down into their respective positions in their own ways. More or less. It was mostly thanks to yours and Yui’s efforts that the brothers barely managed to keep it together. 

On day four, everything is stressing you out immensely. Slumping against the counter, you let yourself wallow in misery after the lunch rush hours. “(Name)-chan~?” Laito’s voice rang in your ears. You groaned and draped your arm over your head. Fortunately, the auburn-haired vampire hadn’t really bothered you much. The cafe had a steady stream of pretty girls after the first day so he is well off. 

Despite Reiji’s warnings, he did flirt with them, to your dismay, but so far, it had been beneficial for the cafe as the girls came back often to see more of the vampire. 

“What do you want?” You asked, voice muffled by your arms. His hands landed on your shoulder and he leaned in, cold breath tickling your ear. “I wanted to talk to my little (Name)-chan. I haven’t really gotten a chance to play with her these few days, nfu~.”

Shaking his hands off, you sighed, sitting up and hoping he’d get the idea that you are beyond tired. But no, he completely ignored your exaggerated sigh and clapped his hands together gleefully, “I knew my dear little (Name)-chan would come around!” You stared at him with a deadpan expression. 

Before Laito could continue his little “game”, the bell at the entrance chimed, signaling your demise. Slapping a forced smile on your face, you walked around the counter, the words you’ve repeated over and over these past days already on your lips. “Welcome to Diabolik Cafe. Table for one?” 

“U-um…” The breach of your usual routine shook you out of your depression, prompting you to take a closer look at your customer. It is a petite girl with soft, silvery hair that reached her waist and breath-taking crystal blue eyes. You blinked, eyes automatically traveling to Laito. The green-eyed vampire didn’t seem to be paying attention, back leaning against the counter while he casually twirled a butter knife between his nimble fingers.

“I-I’m not here for the food. I’m wondering if you are hiring?” The silver-haired beauty’s voice brought you back to Earth. “Hiring?” You echoed, a little taken aback. Someone wanted to work at this cafe?

“Well, you’ll have to ask our manager but he’s currently out. Why don’t you come back tomorrow?” You asked, albeit slightly awkwardly. 

Her face crumpled, “I understand…” Her expression reminded of your sister. “You will find a way to do so. The safety of your sister hangs in balance.” 

Laito chose this moment to finally notice the conversation at the door. “(Name)-chan, why haven’t-.” His expression changed to the facade he wears around girls. “Aw~, (Name)-chan~,” he whined, “why didn’t you call me over?” 

The girl blushed, nervously glancing over at the auburn-haired vampire, who had waltzed over. Slinging an arm around your shoulder and pulling you closer (much to your chagrin), he smiled at her. “What’s your name, Sweetheart?” 

She fidgeted, blushing furiously, “E-Eliza.” 

Laito hummed, stepping closer to Eliza, whose face is now as red as the former’s hair. “A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.” You gagged, second-hand embarrassment creeping up on you. Unfortunately for you, Laito didn’t stop there, slipping a slender digit underneath her chin, tilting it up. 

“When encountering a wild animal, back away slowly, (Name).” Your father had always told you. So you did, hastily stepping back. Alas, today is not your day. Your hips bumped a table behind you and Laito turned back around, alerted by the sound. 

You knew the next thing out of his mouth would not be in your favor when his peridot orbs narrowed. “Fufu, is my dear little (Name)-chan jealous~?”

“No!” You shot back, limping back around to the counter, cursing under your breath when you stubbed your toe on one of the chair legs. I swear, everything is going against me today! “If you’re so eager, why don’t you deal with this then?” 

“Deal with what?” Yui’s voice interrupted your little “argument”. The blonde had gone with Ayato to pick up more supplies for the kitchen. Since they had come through the back door, everyone in the room is now having a weird sort of stare-down. 

At least, that’s what it looked like to you, who is like an awkward spectator.

“Well, Bi-Yui-chan. It seems like Reiji-kun’s cafe attracted more attention than we had bargained for.” Ayato’s brows furrowed. “What?” Yui pulled on his sleeve, gesturing at Eliza. “Oh.” Fumbling to recover from the blow to his ego (in his bloated and unwanted opinion, having Yui point out something obvious for him is really embarrassing), he scowled, “You realize Reiji doesn’t allow that, right?” 

Laito shrugged nonchalantly, as if the bastard knows all the blame will fall on you, “Reiji isn’t here.” 

“Alright, alright.” Finally, you stepped up before things can get too out of hand. Er, more out of hand than it already is. “Eliza-san. I’m sorry but you’ll have to come back tomorrow. Since our manager isn’t here, we can’t decide for him. I’ll talk to him about it and you can get your answer tomorrow.”

She nodded, albeit reluctantly, and headed out. When you can’t hear the echoes of the bells anymore, you slumped back onto the counter. “Really? Laito, come on. At least have a little bit more self-control than this.” The said vampire leaned against the counter, expression unusually serious as he gazed in the direction Eliza had gone off to. 

“Didn’t you feel it? She’s hiding something.” From across the room, Ayato snorted and Yui sighed, muttering something about the conspiracy theorists getting to him. Pushing yourself up from the counter, you echoed the velvet eyed girl’s sigh, propping your head up with your hands. Deciding to humor him, you asked, “How so?” 

Laito’s green eyes found your (Eye Color) ones. “Her body language screams unease. Her eyes kept flickering around like she’s afraid of something.”

“Oh. So like how I was when you guys first abducted me.” You gave a deadpan response. 

A murmur of, “No, she makes it look prettier,” sounded behind you. Twisting around and almost falling off of your high stool, you glared at Shu, who found this the convenient moment to pop up out of absolutely nowhere. 

“It’s not like you’re Mister Perfect either, so shut it and let Laito explain.” You decided to salvage your broken pride, defending Laito is a small price to pay. But apparently, you did not think it through. “(Name)-chan is defending me~?” The auburn-haired vampire purred, leaning over the counter to pat your head. 

“Annnddd, just when I thought you’re just slightly better than Shu.”  
Laito pouted, opening his mouth to respond to your retort, probably with a joke at your expense. However, it seemed like Ayato had enough of his brother. Barking out a, “Hurry up! We’re all gonna be old as hell when you finish explaining, at this rate.” 

“Teddy, why is everyone yelling?” Kanato asked, head poking out from the kitchen. “What’s goin’ on in here?” Subaru appeared, looking annoyed as hell. As always. 

Sighing, you explained the situation once again with occasional interruptions from one of the brothers. 

“Didn’t Reiji set up a no hiring policy or whatever?” Subaru asked when you finished, with Ayato nodding while he frowned disapprovingly at you. “We’re all gonna get it if he comes back to this.” 

Yui cut in calmly, like a brilliant source of light in a blizzard, “Eliza seemed really desperate. I think something’s going on with her.” Looking over at her, you asked, “What do you suggest, Yui-chan?” 

The blonde girl considered for a second before saying, “I’d say the best course action would be to ask Reiji about it. But,” she added when Ayato and Subaru opened their mouths to protest, “we need someone who can convince him.” She trained her sherbert pink eyes on you. “M-me? I can’t even convince Laito to back off. How am I supposed to convince a stick-in-the-mud like him?” 

“We’ll help you,” she said, giving you a gentle smile, “Right?” Yui added, giving pointed looks at the brothers. 

“Teddy and I won’t get anything out of it. Why should we help you?” Kanato asked, surprisingly calm as he ate a slice of cake that had been leftover from the lunch rush. All the brothers, save for Laito, who seemed intrigued by this sudden turn of events, nodded in agreement, probably agreeing with each other for the first time in their entire lives, and it’s against your favor. 

You stood up, facing the brothers. “If what Laito had said is right… I want to help her.” A flash of Eliza’s face flashed across your mind. She’s so much like Kanzaki. You thought fondly, the sound of your little sister’s laugh echoing through your head. A pang of homesickness hit you. I miss everyone so much. Which is why I want to help her. 

“I don’t care what the rest of you thinks. If I have to, I’ll help her alone.” Giving everyone in the room a determined stare, you whipped around, walking out of the cafe. They can handle themselves for the afternoon shift. Besides, they’ve got Yui. Speaking of which, I’d better buy her something to make up for dumping them with her.

…

“Eliza?” One of your new friends, Aiko Mina asked, her brown eyes drifting upwards as she tried to recall the name. “Oh, yeah! She came to our restaurant asking for a job. We had to turn her down ‘cuz we currently don’t need any employees.” Thanking her, you continued your investigation. 

Eventually, when you’re tired from walking all over Harajuku and asking countless people about the mysterious silver-haired girl, you pinpointed her last workplace. “Wow, it’s kinda like I’m stalking her or something.” You muttered to yourself, a little delusional after spending the afternoon walking under the hot sun. 

Walking into the quint clothing shop, you notice quite a lot of people inside. In fact, the lines are almost to the door! “This place seems popular.” The store sells cute, Korean-ish style of clothing. So cute you almost wanted to stop and look around for a bit. But you didn’t, knowing you had a mission to accomplish. 

Walking up to the counter, you ignored the glares of people waiting in line. You weren’t cutting, simply asking to talk to their manager. After the girl at the counter directed you to a dim hallway, you began having second thoughts.

What do I ask anyway? So I heard this girl named Eliza worked here. Can you tell me about her? Oh, by the way, I don’t even know her last name. 

Taking a deep breath, you commanded yourself to calm down. Just say that she came to your cafe for a job and your manager wants to find out more about her. It’ll be alright. 

Hesitantly holding up a hand to the door, you gave a gentle knock. The door opened with a creak. Why am I getting deja vu? You thought to yourself, thinking back on your first day at the Sakamaki mansion, feeling a little uneasy. The hallway where the office is located is dim, and you can hear the eerie sound of pop songs from the store area. It echoed in the small hallway, creeping you out.

Seeing that no one responded, you decided their manager seemed to be out. Back away, you turned, ready to head back to the cafe. However, you bumped into something as you turned. 

“Ah-!” 

Looking up, you stared right into hypnotizing vibrant purple eyes. “I’m sorry, miss, can I help you?” The man’s voice is a velvety purr that rivaled Laito’s. The uneasy feeling grew, roaring in your ears, like hot poison coursing through your veins. 

“I-uh-Are you the manager?” 

He chuckled, tipping your chin up with a finger, much like Laito. Who is this guy, Laito’s secret brother? Despite the seriousness of the situation, you can’t help but make a joke. Your humor seemed to beat you out of it, oxygen once again reaching your brain evenly. “I am. You can call me Aimoto. How can I help such a pretty lady as you?”

In his presence, everything seemed in sharper focus, the sound of your heartbeat echoed in your ears erratically, and your skin felt too hot to be comfortable. “I-.” Cutting off abruptly, you pulled yourself off him. Normal. Everything fell back to its dull state and you can no longer hear your heartbeat. Is he a vampire? No. It can’t be. This never happened to you when you touched any of the Sakamaki brothers. 

“I-Sorry. I’m here to ask about one of your former workers, Eliza. She came to our cafe and my manager wants to find out some more about her before he decides to hire her.” You studied the man intently. Aside from the too vibrant purple eyes you had seen before, he seemed pretty normal. Flirty, but normal.

His face didn’t change. “Ah, yes. She was such a great worker. Sure, I can tell you more about her. Although we should talk... somewhere that’s not out in the hallways.” You nodded, relieved that he didn’t turn you down. “Your office is here, right? If it’s not too much to ask, can we talk in there?” Aimoto cocked his head to the right, smirking, “Of course, ladies first,” he said, holding open the door for you.

You stepped in, thanking him. His office seemed pretty generic. Office desk, chair, bookshelves, etc. But what caught your attention is not the decorations. It’s the paintings. Paintings of different girls hung on the walls. They’re all extremely beautiful and all about the same age. Your age. Before you can look any closer at the walls, the manager spoke from behind you. “Don’t you love art?”

Looking back at him, you asked in confusion, “Excuse me?”

Aimoto sighed, holding his hands behind his back while he walked towards one of the paintings. Stroking it softly, he smiled softly. The scene would’ve been romantic if there were more paintings of girls on the walls. With a start, you realized the girl in the painting he gazed so fondly at is Eliza. 

“Ah. How pure and innocent. I love naive girls~.” By now, every nerve in your body screamed danger. This is not a good place to be. From your experiences with the Sakamaki brothers (mostly Laito), you know this situation is going to end up against your favor. “Eliza, you say? She was so precious. Everything I wanted, that girl. Now she’ll forever be mine.” While Aimoto continued about girls and other crap you do NOT want to hear about, you crept towards the door, hand reaching for the handle. 

A loud click rang through the room when you twisted the handle. Cold, cold, fear settled in your chest. Locked. When had he locked it? You didn’t see anything! 

You are slammed back against the door, shocked (Eye Color) orbs staring into alluring amethyst ones. “Uh, uh, uh, can’t have my next meal escaping so easily, can I now?” The suffocating, burning feeling is back tenfold and you gasped when he wrapped his hand around your neck.

“Oh, you have been bitten?” He asked, bending down to examine one of the many bite marks on your neck. You struggled to inhale, the dizzying feeling of oxygen deprivation coming back. It has been quite a while since any of the brothers choked you, but the feeling is as horrible as ever. Tightening his hand around your neck, Aimoto frowned, then laughed. “Vampires. Disgusting. I’ll show you what-.” 

Suddenly, the crushing feeling around your neck and Aimoto’s voice disappeared, leaving you to collapse on the floor. Before that can happen, arms held you up, cradling you against their owner’s chest. The faint scent of roses greeted your nose and you coughed weakly, throat sore. 

“Tch. Can’t keep yourself outta trouble for one minute, hah?” You can barely register Subaru’s voice through the haze. “Su-Subaru…?” You croaked, coughing again as the words strained your throat. 

“Shut up and rest, (Name).” As if his confirmation was all you needed, you sank under the waves of consciousness, too tired to keep yourself afloat.


	3. Don't Remind Me (Chapter 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You can't seem to figure out what triggers the bad memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took longer than it should have. It's only 1,000 something words, I know, I know. Originally, it was going to be longer, but I had to cut it in half because I wanted to get this chapter out ASAP. There will be mistakes (I noticed some in the earlier chapters and fixed it as I went along), I'm human, you're human, we all make mistakes. If you see any, please feel free to tell me!
> 
> Now, about the plot. I was kind of unsure about Kanato's character. My favorite Diaboy is Laito (if you haven't noticed already (〃￣ω￣〃ゞ) so his character would be the easiest for me to write. I'm still figuring some things out, so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> I try to include everyone, but sometimes I just... forget. Please do tell me who you want me to write more about because well, I want to please everyone. But I can't. Okay, now I'm just rambling. Sorry. You can stop reading now. As always, enjoy the chapter (・∀・)
> 
> (Just wanted to share a quote I can relate to, you can skip this last part if you want me to shut up)
> 
> “You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there's still going to be somebody who hates peaches.”
> 
> Wonderful quote.

It seemed as if Laito’s premonition proved to be correct. Yui had been worrying over you, insisting that Subaru go and bring you back from wherever you had run off to. He had (reluctantly) gone off in search of you. And saved you from a certain fate.

Carrying your unconscious body bridal style out the back door of the store, the white-haired vampire pondered about the man he had just saved you from. Something about him seemed off. You weren’t stupid nor weak, your time at the Sakamaki mansion had served you well. Nowadays, you should be able to overpower a human easily. The vibes from the man had been strange too. Usually, Subaru had to hold back in order to not kill a human. This time, however, the blinding rage he felt at the sight of the man cornering you washed away all of his logic and self-control. 

Something’s decidedly not right. After you fainted, he had examined the man, mulling over how exactly is he going to get away with murdering a manager, only to find that the man is still breathing, a bruise blossoming on his jaw where Subaru had struck him. 

By now, the sky is painted a light indigo, the sky towards the west washed golden reddish tones. The lights inside the cafe seemed warm and welcoming compared to the evening chill. Pushing open the door with his shoulder, Subaru is greeted with Yui’s worried form, her tone slowly growing higher pitched with concern, “(Name)? What happened? Is she okay?!” The other brothers milled around them, expressions ranging from slight worry to irritation to amusement. 

Subaru set you down gently on one of the chairs Yui had pulled out, sighing heavily. “Fucker was trying to harass her.” Yui’s sherbert pink eyes widened as she froze from bustling around your slumped form. “H-harass?” 

He nodded solemnly. “Who’d harass (Name)?” Ayato snorted, “It’s not like she has any-.” 

“That’s not important!” Subaru interrupted, rising from his seat. Yui pushed him gently back down. “That can happen to anyone, and it’s not the victim’s fault when it happens, Ayato-kun.” She explained patiently, trying to rouse you. 

“She’s probably in shock,” Yui murmured, pushing hair out of your face gently. “Oi, why isn’t she waking up?” Ayato asked, leaning over the blonde girl’s shoulder to poke your cheek. Yui pushed his hand away, all the while patiently explaining, “The most likely reason why she’s unconscious is that the shock caused a severe drop in her blood pressure, preventing her brain from getting enough oxygen, therefore leading to the loss of consciousness.” 

Silence followed her explanation. “W-o-w~ Bitch-chan’s so smart, fufu,” Laito giggled, tone patronizing. To her credit, Yui just nodded her thanks, completely ignoring the fact his words are meant to mock her. “This is troublesome. When will she wake up?” Shu asked from his spot in one of the booths, slumped over the table. Oh well, at least he’s paying attention, Yui thought with a mental sigh. 

“That’s hard to say. I’m not a doctor, after all,” the blonde replied, taking a seat next to you. Kanato, who had been quiet all this time, hugged Teddy tight to his chest and walked over, stopping in front of you. “I like her better like this; she’s much quieter, just like a doll,” he smiled, one hand out to caress your cheek. “Kanato, leave her be,” everyone turned, surprised that Shu of everyone would choose to interfere. 

Kanato frowned, the trembling of his lower lip signaling another round of screams and cries are about to occur. 

At that moment, your (Eye Color) fluttered open and you sat up, an unimpressed expression on your face and slurred, “I’m loud, you say?” Staring Kanato right in the eyes, you continued, “I’ll show how exactly  _ loud  _ I can be.”

Finishing your line, you opened your mouth and screamed bloody murder. Screeched, more like it. Everyone covered their ears. Except for Kanato. He glared at you, practically shaking with anger. 

“Y-you…” He whispered, taking a step forward. “YOU’LL PAY FOR THIS!”

Both of you are screaming, the shop is in chaos from the high-pitched screeches, glasses broke. Everyone had their ears covered or had already teleported out of the cafe. Unnoticed by everyone, the door opened, the bell chimed cheerfully. 

“What  _ exactly  _ is going on here?” A steely cold voice asked. Reiji stood at the door, glowering at you and Kanato, wine red eyes staring right into your very soul. You collapsed onto Kanato, knocking him down with a loud protest on his part. 

“Tch, I think she might have hit her head too hard,” Subaru muttered, wincing as he side-stepped broken pieces of glass on the floor from the cups you and Kanato shattered with your voices. Reiji picked his way to the counter of the cafe, avoiding the pieces of fallen utensils and broken glass along the way. 

“Please elaborate, Subaru,” he asked sternly, but it was Yui who answered. The blonde girl had fallen to her knees near your slumped form. “Reiji-san, please don’t blame (Name)-chan. She just wanted to resolve an issue that had popped up when you were gone.”

Reiji turned to her, displeasure and disappointment clear on his face, “She chose to do so by provoking Kanato?” By now, the brothers who had teleported out gradually trickled back in. “Aw, jeez~ (Name)-chan can sure scream,” Laito sighed, half-sitting on one of the tables with Ayato next to him. Ayato glared at your still form angrily, “What the hell was that?!” 

“You’re back.” Shu murmured, sitting up. He had not moved an inch during your scream fest with Kanato. “I came back to chaos, it seems. You, didn’t you think to at least  _ try _ to keep things together while I’m gone?”

The blonde vampire yawned, opening one eye to glance lazily at Reiji, “I could care less about this cafe.” Reiji sighed in annoyance, pinching the bridge of his nose, “I expected nothing more from you, Good-For-Nothing.” 

Even the noise and chaos couldn’t pull you back onto shore. You had sunk much too deep into the cold, dark ocean of secrets. The truth is, you had regained consciousness long before Kanato made his comment about how he liked you much better as a doll. His words sickened you. Not only had it brought back memories from minutes before, but it also reminded you of times when you were young; memories you burned and buried in the darkest corner of your mind. The reason why you didn’t lose your mind when you were kidnapped that one winter night. 

The sound of your sister’s fear and sadness echoed, long, drawn-out cries of anguish dug deep into your brain. Dark water swirled around you when you tried to breathe. Pushing you down, deeper into its dark abyss. You can feel the guilt choking you, squeezing the last of the air from your lungs. It had been like this at the beginning of your stay at the Sakamaki mansion. But it had faded away the longer you stayed with them. Even when it did happen, it was never this extreme. 

Your arms moved, clinging on to anything that’ll stop this pain, this deep dark feeling you have inside you. You made contact with something warm. Throwing your arms around that thing, you shivered, eyes opened but unseeing, unable to communicate or listen for the outside world. None of the brothers know about your “condition”. You didn’t want them to know. But this moment, you’ll stop at nothing to get away from this pain. 

Kanato scowled, trying to push you off of him. Reiji had begun to criticize everyone but he just wanted you to get off of him and Teddy! “Please get off me, (Name)-chan,” he asked, eyes twitching. Having received no response, he opened his mouth, ready to shout at you to get off him. But your arms suddenly latched around him, squeezing tightly. You buried your head into his shoulder, body shaking violently. He started in surprise, eyes wide. Had you finally cracked?

“Hey, (Name)-chan, what are you doing?” He asked, words sweet despite his harsh actions, attempting to shove you off again, to no avail. Kanato growled, annoyed at your persistence, reaching for a shard of shattered glass near him. “You know what happens if you don’t get off of me now, right?” More silence from you. Lavender eyes gleaming, he brought the sharp shard up, ready to cut through your delicate skin.

Light gleamed onto the beautiful weapon, reflecting light right into Ayato’s eyes. “Wha-?!” The eldest triplet flinched away from the sudden flash of light, drawing all the other’s attention towards him, subsequently, towards Kanato. 

A soft sob broke the tensed silence that had settled in the room. You brought your head up slowly, the lights on your tear-stained face like a spotlight. Your (Eye Color) eyes are wide but unseeing, dead and dull but bright from the unshed tears in your eyes. 

One thing’s clear. The brothers had never seen this side of you before. You had hidden it so deep that nothing they had ever done to you disturbed the ground where it laid. How ironic. In the end, it wasn’t constant torture from sadistic vampires that broke you, but a simple-.

_ Vibora.  _ A voice whispered. You stiffened suddenly, brought out of your breakdown by the bucket of ice known as reality. 

“Vibora…?” You whispered, thoughts tumbling through your head. By this point, you aren’t even sure if you’re breakdown ended. The word echoed around in your brain, why? Glancing up, you scanned your surroundings. The cafe and all your problems had disappeared, if only for the time being. Instead, you found yourself back in your childhood home. It didn’t disturb you as much as you had thought. 

_ “Please, don’t hurt her!”  _ A child’s voice plead. With a start, you realized it was your voice, albeit higher-pitched. Walking through the walls of the dingey apartment, you watched with part horror part fascination as a scene of your childhood played like a movie. One of the moments that scarred you forever.

A younger version of you, perhaps seven or eight, stood in front of Kanzaki. Your sister had tears running down her swollen cheeks. Wait. You don’t recognize this scene. A man stood in front of you two, expression one of twisted amusement. 

Could it be…? Suddenly, red eyes stared right at your ghost-like presence. They reminded you of someone, who?  _ “You have the determination to defend someone you love… You will be perfect.”  _ You blinked. He is no longer looking at you. Well, he still is, just not at the current you. 

_ “It will be up to you, little one. Now, run along,”  _ he waved at the two of you as if shooing away a fly. 

_ “And remember, Viboras are creatures of  _ **_lust_ ** _.” _

_ Eliza’s posture. Her hands always wrapped around her abdomen. _

“She must be pregnant!” You shot up, breaths coming out in pants. “Please be quiet and don’t shout out such inappropriate terms.” Reiji’s irritated voice sounded, drawing your attention to the dark-haired vampire. “Eliza, she…” Trailing off, you stared awkwardly at Reiji’s judging face. And his red eyes. With a start, you realized the man who had been talking to you and your sister looked slightly like Reiji. _I wonder if they're related?_

Before you can explain to him why you were shouting about pregnancy right after you wake up from screaming at Kanato, Reiji spoke.

“Would you care to explain to us  _ exactly _ why you were shouting about pregnancy right after you wake up from screaming at Kanato?” 

“That’s what I was thinking,” you grumbled, head hanging low. “I’m sorry.”

You decided that apologizing before explaining will be the best way to not get you and your sister killed. Sensing your hesitation, Reiji tipped his glasses up with his middle finger, “Starting off with what happened before Subaru arrived.”


	4. Problem and Solution (Chapter 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was as you had suspected. Now, how are you going to solve it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That took a while to get out. I really have nothing to say here besides that this chapter was not looked over (I'm too tired and lazy to do dat -_-) and enjoy the chapter!

Explaining everything took a while, especially since Reiji had to (impatiently) call in everyone who was listening outside the door. It took a lot of convincing (and bribing) for Kanato to forgive you. Even then, you weren’t sure the lavender-eyed vampire really pardoned your behavior. 

You deliberately avoided talking about the cause of your panic attack. But Shu decided that you aren’t getting a pass today. 

“Why?” He asked, surprisingly awake, ocean blue orbs drilling into you. Feigning ignorance, you widened your (Eye Color) eyes in what you hoped was an innocent look, “Why what?” 

The blonde sighed, muttering something about you being an A-class actress. With sarcasm, of course. You take that you have failed at trying to fake innocence.

“Why you were clinging to Kanato and crying,” Shu said, deadly serious and probably the most awake in all the time you had known him. 

Switching tactics, you put up a front, giving him a deadpan look. “Why do you think?”

He shrugged, relaxing, “You woke up screaming ‘she’s pregnant’.”

Waving him off casually (you hoped it looked casual), you scoffed, “I think it goes without saying that you shouldn’t remind people of traumatizing experiences. 

“You don’t look traumatized,” Shu retaliated and at this point, you aren’t sure if he’s still trying to interrogate you or continue this absolutely pointless debate just to annoy you. 

“(Name)-chan. You still have to repay me, remember?” Kanato broke in, stopping your argument but bringing up another problem. “R-repay? I never agreed to that,” you stared in disbelief at the grumpy purple-eyed vampire. 

“Fufu~. Naive (Name)-chan. Haven’t you lived with us long enough to know that your every action will have consequences?” Laito chuckled, plopping down on your bed from where he was standing, leaning against the headboard. Subsequently, invading your personal space. “But don’t worry about it, I like naive girls~.” 

_ Wait, that line seems familiar.  _ “Excuse me?” You asked, turning to face him, feeling a strange sense of deja vu.

“Hm?” He hummed, looking vaguely amused at your flabbergasted expression. 

“Are you going deaf too?” Ayato scoffed from the doorway. “Shut up would ya?” Subaru growled, shooting his half-brother a glare for good measures. 

In this moment of silence, you noticed an alarming absence of Yui. A flash of sudden panic coursed down your spine, causing you to stiffen up, “Reiji, where’s Yui?” 

Reiji looked up from whatever he was doing before, bent over a bunch of medicine bottle things. “Yui? She is in bed with some injuries.” 

“Injuries? Is she okay?” You asked, frantic that your best friend (and only friend, in this life at least) is injured. “She is fine, just some mild scratches. I’ve already tended to her.” 

Breathing a quick sigh of relief, you looked around the room, not sure what will direct their attention away from you. Being rude had always worked out  _ fine _ for you, except that one time when Subaru almost crushed your windpipe or that other time when Laito chained you up in the dungeons, claiming he just wanted to ‘educate’ you on… certain unspeakable things. Or that time, when Ayato and Kanato almost turned you into a living kabob with an old, rusty sword. It wasn’t like Reiji and Shu were any better, the former whipping you half to death and the latter nearly drowning you in your own bathtub. 

With these thoughts circling your headspace, plus the stress of the events that had transpired hours ago, indignation bubbled up. Or perhaps it was just a mixture of helplessness and disappointment upon re-realizing these brothers’ true colors. Without Yui, no one is here to rein in your sassy, snarky side you show when your emotions are provoked.

“Don’t y’all have better things to do than stare at me as if I was a piece of meat?” As soon as the words left your mouth, you know you screwed up. Everyone in the room paused their arguments or actions and turned to stare right at you, dangerous glints in their eyes. 

“Heh? (Name)-chan, you never learn, do you~?” Laito purred, staring down at you as if you were a disobedient puppy.  _ His  _ disobedient little puppy. Kanato stood up, glaring at you, “I don’t stare like at you like you’re meat! The only one who does that is Ayato!”  _ That’s what you’re upset about?  _ You sweatdropped at his childish reaction. To be expected, really. 

“Shut up! Ore-sama never does that either! You must be talking about Subaru,” Ayato growled, prowling forward to stop in front of you.  _ I honestly can’t believe that they’re more upset over my choice of words than the context of it.  _

Subaru stood up from his chair so fast that he knocked said chair over in the process. “Ayato, don’t you go accusing me!” Subaru smashed his fist into your wall to prove his point. You found it highly unnecessary, but okay. It’s not like you can actually stop him or anything.

You swear the three look like they’re about to start brawling or something. “Now, now, you’re making (Name)-chan scared,” Laito chimed in, cheerfully invading your personal space (once again) before pulling you right onto his lap, “be a good lapdog, won’t you, (Name)-chan, nfu~.”

_ Dafaq? _ Before you can express your sense of disgust and pull yourself off of him, Ayato plucked you right off of his brother’s lap. “Laito, go be a pervert somewhere else, Ore-sama’s thirsty,” the redheaded vampire growled, before dipping his head down to bite into your neck. 

“Enough! Ayato, how many times do I have to tell you-,” 

“-to take your activities to your private room?” 

Reiji had growled,  _ growled _ ! His voice was a few shades darker than usual. You had interrupted awkwardly, to try to ease the tension. Besides, he had said it so many times that you memorized the line yourself. 

Ayato’s grip on you tightened. He glared at Reiji with contempt, “I’ve had enough of you telling me what to do, you stupid Tableware Otaku!” Without looking back, he dragged you out the door of your room into the hallway. Behind him, you could hear the faint sounds of protest from the other brothers. You pushed at his chest, stumbling a couple of steps before barely managing to match his stride. “Ayato! Let me go!” 

He ignored you in favor of slamming you into the hallway wall, peridot eyes burning into your (Eye Color) ones. “I’ve let you off the hook for too long, (Name),” he growled lowly, a hand creeping to your neck. A surge of blind panic caused you to thrash in his grip, Aimoto’s sneering face lingering in your head.

“Ayato, not now, please,” you pleaded with him, feeling tears prick at the back of your eyes from fright and slight suffocation. 

The redhead ignored you, dipping his head to your neck. His cold breath on the sensitive skin of your neck made you shiver involuntarily. “I always thought Chichinashi was the liar,” Ayato chuckled, a sound that vibrated lowly in his chest. 

“I-.” Your protest stuck in your throat as his fangs grazed the skin of your throat. A moment later, sharp, burning pain filled your sensing and the now-familiar sensation of blood leaving your body had you breathless. Trying not to panic, you blinked back tears, staring at the ceiling, wishing him to be quick. 

But of course, this is Ayato, who was never merciful or quick with you. After about 30 seconds (or a minute? You really can’t be sure anymore) of this, your knees buckled. Ayato grunted, detaching himself from you and heaved you back up, muttering something insulting about your weight. You couldn’t bring yourself to care.

None of the brothers had tried anything with you ever since Reiji’s announcement about the cafe. You had never felt this tight feeling in your chest before when any of the brothers sucked your blood. The most you had ever felt was immense pain and fear, coupled with the feeling of disgust. Never this suffocating, heart-stopping pain in your chest. Not ever since Aimoto. 

_ Vibora,  _ your mind whispered. Like a plague, it spread until all you could hear was whispers of that man’s voice in your head, then  _ his  _ voice,  _ his  _ sneering voice echoed in your ears. 

“-are you listening to me?” Ayato’s impatient voice sounded far away, underwater. Even the pain of another bite couldn’t bring you out of it. Ever since Aimoto, a vibora, touched you, everything felt off. Every touch makes you feel feverish, delirious even. You don’t know how you knew this information, that the purple-eyed man is a vibora, but one thing’s certain. It broke something within you. 

The scary part is you don’t know how to fix it or even what it was. Something just seemed off. 

  
When you returned, you found yourself staring at the ceiling. But not the ceiling of the hallway anymore, it was the ceiling of Ayato’s room. How you ended up here, you don’t know for certain but you had a pretty good guess. 

“Oi, (Name), what the hell happened to you?” Tilting your head to the side, you spotted Ayato’s impatient and slightly concerned expression from where he sat on the edge of the bed. “I-I don’t know,” you managed to say despite the initial crack of your voice. Your tongue stuck to the roof of your mouth as if you had been unconscious for hours.

“How long was I out for?” Ayato’s expression changed to something you can’t quite place. “Out? It was more like you fell into a trance or something.”

“Trance?” You echoed his words, furrowing your eyebrows in confusion. “Yeah,” he replied, gesturing to you, “your eyes were opened, but you weren’t blinking. It was fucking creepy but I didn’t want to go to that,” his lips curled, “smartass.”

“Oh,” you muttered to yourself, keeping a wary eye on his figure, in case he decided a brief sip from you isn’t enough. 

A wave of dizziness hit you, probably from the blood loss and you laid back down, closing your eyes in thought.  _ Maybe I should go to Reiji for help.  _

That drew your thoughts to your sister.  _ No, I can’t do that. I’m already on his bad side after wrecking the cafe. If I go, he might just snap and kill Kanzaki.  _ That thought made your blood run cold. 

Trying to avert your thoughts away from the potential disaster, you took note of Ayato’s silence. He’s being surprisingly quiet and you can’t help but crack open an eye to peek at him. His back faced you, hunched forward as if the weight of the sky had been placed onto his shoulders. 

You thought back to the unease in his expression when he explained what had happened to you.  _ Was he lying?  _

But why would he do that? It is a mystery  _ and _ it is hurting your head, so you resorted to leaving it for later. Despite the fact you had just woken up, your eyelids feel heavy as if you had exerted yourself to some extent in the last few hours. 

Dimly, you felt the bed shift and Ayato’s arms curl around your form but by then, your mind had already lost its grip on the threads of consciousness. 

…

Ayato clenched his fist around a handful of your shirt, gritting his teeth, trying to hold back his shallow breathing. Your soft breathing provided an anchor for him and he found taking breaths along with you, despite the fact he doesn’t need it.

The scene flashed in front of his eyes. Ayato closed them tightly trying to forget it. No way that was you, the hatred and sharp, cold words. It almost reminded him of  _ that  _ disgusting woman that possessed Yui once upon a time. But it couldn’t be her, she’s gone forever!

…

  
  


_ Ayato sank his teeth into the delicate skin of your neck, causing another bruise to blossom on the pale, almost translucent skin. “Hey, I’m talking to you,” he growled, lifting his head to stare into your eyes. What met his eyes wasn’t your frightened expression but an eerily unreadable calm. Your features are slack, relaxed, save for your eyes. The normally lucid pools of (Eye Color) burned with boiling hatred. The look had him recoiling back in shock. It was so unlike you to glare at any of the vampires like this, you’re smarter than that. _

_ Ayato barely recovered from his shock when you opened your mouth, snarling, “Don’t you  _ fucking _ touch me.” You weren’t yourself, a completely different girl from before. _

_ Shoving him back with surprising strength, you clawed at his face ferociously, all the while screaming, “Let me go! Leave me alone! Stop hurting her!” Ayato’s eyes widened. He had no idea what in the world you’re saying but one thing’s clear; if he doesn’t stop you, you might actually claw out his eyes or cause irreparable damage.  _

_ With that thought in mind, he jammed a fist into your solar plexus, leaving you to freeze before crumpling to the floor like a paper doll. He then carried you to his room without looking at your wide, unseeing eyes.  _

It creeped Ayato out that you,  _ you,  _ barely stronger than Yui, might have been able to cause him, an almost unkillable  _ vampire,  _ damage. If he had not knocked you out, he really might have lost an eye. The look of rage, absolute hatred in your eyes, whether he liked to admit it or not, chilled him to the bones, making his nonexistent heart jump. 

Before you woke up, Ayato steeled himself. He decided he couldn’t let you, out of everyone, know about his fears. So, acting as he would usually, he impatiently woke you up, hoping you wouldn’t notice the quiver in his voice. 

An image of your usual, smiling face popped into his head. So different, so… adorable. Of course, Ayato would never admit to anyone he thought you were cute. Just, in the light of your new, split personality, your normal seemed cuter to him. Nevertheless, Ayato is truly concerned for you. The you who scoffs at his insults then returns them nevermind the consequence. The you that naively hugged him to “make him feel better.” The you who stayed with him despite his differences. 

When you fell unconscious once more, Ayato watched the slow rise and fall of your chest, the urge to hold you in his arms proving to be too strong for him to fight. 

...

You notice Reiji’s change in attitude after that incident the day before. You had continued working like nothing happened. Well, you tried to. Everyone seemed on edge, even Yui. When you confronted her on the matter, she looked away uncomfortably. 

“What’s wrong? Did I do something?” You asked, probably sounding desperate but at this point, you could care less. “No… it’s not you,” she muttered, walking back to the counter to grab a set of utensils for one of the tables. “Then what is it?” You followed her, gripping your dress tightly, upset at her cool attitude. 

Before you can continue to hound the poor girl, a hand clamped onto your shoulder. “Shouldn’t you be working?” Reiji’s ice-cold voice sounded in your ear.

“I’m sorry,” you replied quickly, not wanting to get on his bad side. Wait. What if you’re already on his bad side?  _ That would explain why everyone’s acting so weird. What happened during the time I was asleep? _

The bell rang and you looked up, relieved to have some form of distraction from this depressing train of thought. A moment later, you froze again, your heart dropping like a stone. Eliza pushed open the door, glancing around hesitantly. This time, however, you noticed a few crucial details you had missed the other time around. 

Eliza’s hands rested on her abdomen, fists clenching and unclenching. Her face is pale and her eyes displayed fear and uncertainty. You felt a rush of sympathy for her. Before you could go over to her, Reiji’s hand tightened on your shoulder. You looked back at him, confused. 

“I will not allow you to continue doing this.”

“Doing  _ what _ ?!” The feeling of confusion and helplessness made you snap, glaring up at him. His face bore no expression, just cold contempt. 

“E-Excuse me?” Eliza’s voice asked from behind and you stiffened fearing Reiji would direct his rage onto the fragile girl. 

“I understand if I’m not welcomed here,” she whispered, big blue eyes blinking back tears. You felt like crying too. “No, no, it’s just-,” before you can finish, she collapsed to the ground, sobbing. Yui rushed forward a step before you from her place at one of the tables, probably listening in on the conversation. The blonde knelt by Eliza, helping her up. 

Her cries attracted the attention of the other brothers, they slowly emerged from wherever they hid, eavesdropping.

“I don’t want to risk my pride out here but if I don’t…” The silver-haired girl trailed off into a sob, “My baby will have no place to live, no food to eat, no courage to say no,” she whispered, expression pained but somehow tender at the same time. 

Yui straightened up, her eyes widening, “You-you’re-,” she looked back at you, “That’s what you meant…”

Eliza hid her face, shrinking away from Yui’s stare. Yui’s features softened and she pulled out a nearby chair, helping Eliza into it. Tearfilled crystal blue eyes stared into Yui’s soft pink ones, full of shock. “You’re not going to kick me out?”

“No, I understand you have your own circumstances, Eliza-san,” Yui’s soft voice filled you with relief. You had one ally in here. It didn’t surprise you too much that Yui would sympathize with the blue-eyed girl. She had landed in a similar situation with the brothers, after all. 

“Yui. It would do you well to remember who is in charge here,” Reji’s cold voice rang harshly, contrasting with Yui’s soft, smooth voice. “Reiji-kun~. Don’t be a stick-in-the-mud, this game is fun,” Laito giggled, the first to give his input. 

It rubbed you the wrong way that he was taking this situation as a game but at least he wasn’t against the idea of helping this poor girl. “It’s entertainment,” Shu murmured. 

“It’s not a game!”

A sudden crash alerted you to Subaru’s rage. You knew he was angry, but what you saw chilled you to the bone. Subaru’s face had darkened, red eyes smoldering with hatred. “You don’t understand, but I do! NOTHING about this situation is funny,” he shouted, grabbing Laito’s collar to empathize his point. 

_ His mother.  _ You realized. His own mother had gone through something like this. Of course he was angry, he had a right a be. Shaking off Reiji’s hand, you stepped up, gently gripping one of Eliza’s hands. 

“I wanted to help her from the beginning and I’m not going half-way with this.” 

Yui nodded at you, giving you a small smile, “I want to help too.” You returned the smile, despite still being a little miffed with her for ignoring you. Ayato sighed loudly, pushing off the counter where he was leaning to stand beside you. “How do we start?”

Your eyes widened.  _ Ayato  _ wanted to help? Said redhead gave you a glare, trying to hide his embarrassment, “What are you waiting for, stupid?” 

“That’s more like it, for a second, I thought you weren’t the real Oreo-sama,” you muttered, slapping his hand away with he gave you a smack on the top of your head. 

“I never allowed-,” before Reiji could finish his sentence, you interrupted, “Before we help anyone, we should hear your story, Eliza.” The look you got from him was priceless. 

…

  
  


“It started off normally, I had just moved to this area on my own and I needed a job,” Eliza began, fist clenching and unclenching. “He was really kind to me. I don’t mean to brag but I have a pretty face. He acted as if he truly loved me, not my face. Soon, we began dating. He asked me not to tell anyone and I didn’t. Then, he started acting really weirdly,” at this point, the silver-haired girl’s voice trembled like she’s struggling not to cry.

You seethed at Aimoto for ruining this pretty girl, forever changing her innocent view of the world. “One night, he came to my place and,” she hiccuped and Yui squeezed her hand tighter, pulling her into a hug. 

“This happened,” Eliza finished, voice barely audible, clutching her belly area. “He said it was okay, that I would be fine.”

“But after that, he would touch in public and…” 

“Eliza, you don’t have to say it if it makes you uncomfortable,” you said gently, hoping to reassure her. Eliza nodded, silver hair sweeping over her face. 

“At that point, I knew I couldn’t stay. So I told him I wanted to quit. He-he said if I quit, he would hunt me down and kill me and my baby.” After that last sentence left her, she slumped down, curling up on the chair. 

You stepped forward, shoving Shu (who happened to be closest to you besides Ayato) off of the chair he was sitting on. He gave a grunt of protest and you glared down at him. “Everyone except Ayato and Yui, out.” 

Kanato opened his mouth to protest but you grabbed a piece of leftover cake and shoved it in his mouth, turning his around and marching him into the breakroom. Subaru didn’t protest following after the purple-haired vampire with an unreadable expression. Reiji tipped up his glasses, gripping your shoulder with his free hand. 

“It’d do you well-,” you covered his mouth, expression pleading. “Please, Reiji-san, just let me help her. I’ll do whatever you want after… just let me help.” He stared down at you for a few silent seconds, finally slapping your hand away. Your heart sank. 

“Very well. However, it would do you well to remember, there will be consequences to your action.”

You nodded solemnly and Reiji walked past you into the breakroom, commenting on Kanato’s manners. 

You turned to whoever was left in the room. Laito and Shu. Ugh. 

“Can’t you two just listen for once?” You hissed, genuinely out of ideas for how in the heck you’re going to convince these two to leave you guys alone to discuss. “Maybe if you’re gentler,” Shu muttered, not even bothering to look at you. “If we do decide to stay, how are you going to stop us?” said Laito, smirking at you from his perch on one of the tables. 

You looked over to Yui and Ayato, silently asking,  _ a little help here?  _ Yui smiled helplessly at you, gesturing for you to reason with them. Ayato shrugged, mouthing,  _ knock them out or something,  _ you suspected neither ideas would work. 

_ Oh dear Lord. Why is it always so difficult with these bunch? _

  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
